Ginger Schell

A lot of people mistakenly think AI is taking over the transcription field, but that isn't true. I regularly get contacted by people who tried AI, saw how messy the transcripts were and how hard they were to edit, and turned to me for high-quality transcription service.

I'm not saying there aren't any AI customers. There are. Basically, there are two types of transcription customers:

The first type wants a quick transcript for personal review. They don't care how messy it is. They have no intention of editing it or sharing it with others. So AI is a fine choice for them because quality doesn't matter.

The second type wants to use the transcripts as the foundation of a manuscript, blog post, newsletter, or group study. Or they might want to post the transcript on their website for visitors to download. If it's a sermon transcript, they may use it for prison ministry or to make available for the hard-of-hearing community.

The point is they NEED high-quality, accurate, easy-to-read transcripts. So AI isn't a good option for them.

"Yeah, but couldn't they save money by getting the AI transcripts and then editing them?"

Technically, yes. But it takes HOURS to clean up messy and inaccurate AI transcripts. Most of the people who contact me don't have the time or desire to do that type of work.

And guess what? Neither do I. When a client sends me transcripts that were transcribed by AI or a cheap transcription company and asks me to "fix" them, I turn the work down. Why? Because it takes longer to correct the messy transcripts than it takes to start over and transcribe them from scratch.

Let me give you an example. The first sentence is what AI transcribed. The second sentence is what should have been transcribed. Do you think it would be faster to fix the inaccurate AI version or to simply type the correct version from scratch? Try it and see. It's much faster to transcribe the sentence correctly from scratch.

Jayden said he took Cameron for a walk.
Jaedan said, "He took Kamryn for a walk?"

That's just one sentence. Imagine an 8-page transcript with that many errors. How long do you think it would take to "fix" it?

Too long. That's why high-paying clients seek out a service like mine and why I'm not worried about being replaced by AI transcription services.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

People ask me all the time, "Why do I need to hire a transcription mentor/coach if I already type fast?"

This is why. This image is part of an application I received in an email. As an employer, here's what I notice when I look it over:

1. Her information is inconsistent. Her application says she doesn't have any transcription experience, but her resume says she does.

Conclusion: She isn't a careful proofreader and doesn't have an eye for details.

2. She is unaware of her weak spots. For instance, she says she has excellent skills and pays attention to details, but there are more than five errors in the corrected paragraph.

Conclusion: She has blind spots and needs training in order to learn to recognize them. That will take a lot of time and effort. As an employer, do I want to pay my proofreader extra money to train this person, or should I hire someone who already has these skills?

3. She doesn't understand how general transcriptionists are paid. If I gave her the pay rate she requested, she would make approximately 60 cents per work hour.

Conclusion: She has weak researching/critical thinking skills. (Reminds me of me before I took a transcription course.)

4. She says she's a good listener, but is she? On my website, directly above the application, I tell applicants I don't care about typing speed. Yet she pointed it out anyway. Why?

Conclusion: If she doesn't read and follow the information on my website about what I'm looking for in a transcriptionist, then she probably won't read and follow my 54-page formatting guidelines. Is she worth the risk?

5. You can't see it in this image, but in the section where I ask about punctuation rules, two of her answers are wrong. That tells me two things: First, she doesn't have strong punctuation skills. Second, she didn't verify her answers.

Conclusion: This is more proof she doesn't have strong researching skills, which is an essential skill I list on my website. As an employer, do I want to teach her these skills or hire someone who already has them?

I could point out more mistakes, but I think I've made my point.

Why do people need to hire a transcription mentor/coach? Because they don't know what they don't know.

As a transcription business owner, I will ruthlessly throw an application like this one in the trash heap immediately.

As a transcription mentor/coach, I will kindly and patiently teach you all these things so you won't make these kinds of mistakes when you begin looking for a job or your own clients.

In 2006, my four children and I had to go into hiding from my then husband. We fled from South Carolina to Illinois and lived in my brother's basement for a year. At the time, my oldest child was twelve and my youngest was six months old.

I knew I needed to get on my own two feet as quickly as possible, but I was determined to remain a stay-home mom. I didn't want to dump my school-aged children in a new school or my baby in a daycare, so I began looking for a remote job. That's when I discovered the world of transcription.

I enrolled in a medical transcription course. It took almost a year to complete it, and I got a job within two weeks.

But I HATED being a medical transcriptionist. There were so many fast-talking doctors and heavy foreign accents and low-quality audio files! Not to mention the gazillion specialties I needed to know like the back of my hand.

Ugh. I spent more time researching and rewinding and relistening over and over and over than I did transcribing. The worst part is that I was only making about $4 an hour. I'm not kidding. I could have made more money working at McDonald's and with a lot less stress.

So...after seven months, I quit and felt like a huge failure.

A short time later, in the summer of 2008, I was sitting in church, and all of a sudden, a question hit me: Do pastors have their sermons transcribed?

When I got home, I started doing some research. Sure enough, lots of churches post transcripts on their websites.

I decided to start my own business and give this a try for a year. I figured a year would be long enough to see if I could succeed. If I failed, well, then at least I had tried.

That was fifteen years ago.

Now I have a thriving transcription business. My team has transcribed over 20,000 files, including sermons, podcasts, interviews, meetings, conferences, and more. My business has made six figures almost every year for the last eleven years in a row, even through the pandemic.

Now I teach other people how to do what I have done. Specifically, I teach them how to create a Custom Transcript Design business so they can make a full-time income working part-time hours without sacrificing time doing the things that matter to them most.

For me, it was being able to take care of my children without missing out on bedtime stories, baseball games, school plays, and band concerts.

How about you? How would your life change if you could work from home in your PJs and make a full-time income working part-time hours?

Hire me to help you, and you could be trained and have your new business off the ground in as little as 60 days.

Interested?

Click the link, opt in, and watch the video for full details.

"How much does it cost to hire you, Ginger?"

It depends on how much help you need from me. If you're struggling financially, this probably isn't the best fit for you. I'm not cheap, and I don't work for free.

On the other hand, if you're actively looking to invest in a premium program that will give you literally everything you need to get trained and start your own business quickly AND one-on-one coaching AND ongoing support for years to come, then click the link to find out if we're a good fit to work together.

Talk to you soon,
Ginger

https://go.sixfigurescribe.com/work-with-us

"Mom, are you coming to my game?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't; I have to go to work."

"Mom, I want to stay with you."
"I'm sorry, but you have to stay at the daycare because I have to go to work."

"Mom, can we move and live closer to Grandma and Grandpa?"
I'm sorry, but we can't; I can't get a job like this where they live."

"Mom, may I borrow the car to go to Sarah's house?"
"I'm sorry, but no; I need the car because I have to go to work."

"Mom, will you read me a bedtime story tonight?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't; I'll be at work when you go to bed."

Ugh. 🙁

Aren't you sick of arranging your life around your job instead of your job around your life?

You can change that...without having to go back to college for 2-4 years.

Spend 1-3 hours a day learning Custom Transcript Design skills, and within 2-4 months, you'll be free.

Free to choose when you work.

Free to choose where you work.

Free to put your family's needs first.

Free.

Doesn't that sound awesome?

Are you ready to get the skills you need to live the lifestyle you want?

I'll be here to help you every step of the way. 🙂

~ Ginger

P.S. Want more information? Click the link, enter your email, and watch the video on the next page to get the details.

https://go.sixfigurescribe.com/work-with-us

I'm often asked what the difference is between working for a general transcription company and having your own Custom Transcript Design business, so I thought I'd share a couple of thoughts.

The two main differences are pay rates and control.

Pay rates:

Most of the popular general transcription companies pay around $0.25 to $0.75 per audio minute. It's possible to find companies that pay more than that, but you have to dig to find them.

If you get your own clients, you can charge anywhere from $2.00 to $5.00 per audio minute. Most of my weekly clients pay me $3.59 per audio minute.

It takes about 4 hours for an experienced transcriptionist to transcribe an hour of clear audio.

So if you transcribe 60 minutes of audio for $0.50 per audio minute, it would take you about 4 hours to make $30.

If you transcribe 60 minutes of audio for $3.59 per audio minute, it would take you about 4 hours to make $215.40.

You would have to work 28+ hours to make the same amount of money you'd make in 4 hours with your own client.

Huge difference!

Control:

If you work for a general transcription company, you have to transcribe whatever they send you. You'll never know if it's going to be clear or difficult audio, one speaker or multiple speakers, clear English or heavy foreign accents. You also won't know what the subject matter will be. It could be a sermon, focus group, or a shock jock radio show.

You'll also have to learn and follow their formatting guidelines. Unfortunately, a lot of companies are inconsistent with their expectations, so you could score well on one transcript and score poorly on the next even though the formatting is the same on both transcripts. (Scoring has to do with the rating systems companies use to decide who gets work and how much they get paid.)

If you get your own clients, you can be as picky as you want. When I started my business, I only transcribed sermons. That isn't because I'm super religious; I simply grew up going to church so I was familiar with the lingo and knew I could understand and complete that kind of work quickly. After a while, I expanded to include podcasts, speeches, conferences, and interviews.

When I look for new clients, I avoid difficult audio, raunchy subjects, and heavy foreign accents.

The way I see it, there are a gazillion clear audio files in the world, so why would I kill myself transcribing hard files? There's no reason to do that.

There are podcasts and YouTube videos on just about every subject, so you can get work that fits your knowledge and interests.

You'll choose what kind of work you do, how you do it, how much you're paid to do it, and when you'll do it.

It's the ultimate freedom.

I'm sure there are other differences, but these are the main ones.

I hope this is helpful. As always, if you'd like to hire me to help you start your own Custom Transcript Design business, I'd love to help you.

Click the link below, watch the video, and fill out an application to get started.

https://go.sixfigurescribe.com/work-with-us

"How much does it cost to hire you, Ginger?"

It depends on how much help you need from me. If you're in dire straits financially, this probably isn't the best fit for you. I'm not cheap, and I don't work for free.

On the other hand, if you're actively looking to invest in a program that will give you literally everything you need to get trained and start your business quickly AND includes coaching AND ongoing support for years to come, then click the link to find out if we're a good fit to work together.

Talk to you soon,

~ Ginger

The secret to making $50,000 per year with a Custom Transcript Design business:

Let's do some math. Ready?

Custom Transcript Design business owners are paid by the length of the audio they transcribe.

So if someone sends you a 30-minute file (podcast, sermon, interview, meeting...whatever), you'll get paid 30 times whatever your pay rate is.

With me so far? Great!

Let's assume you're going to charge your clients $3.59 per recorded audio minute. (That's what most of my weekly clients pay me.)

Based on that pay rate, how many recorded audio minutes will you need per week to make $1,000?

$1,000/$3.59 = 278 recorded audio minutes

So you'll need 278 recorded audio minutes per week.

Make sense? All right. Let's keep going.

Let's also assume you've decided to transcribe podcasts.

The average length of a podcast is 43 minutes.

43 x 3.59 = $154.37

That means you can comfortably plan to make about $154 per client per week.

So how many weekly clients do you need to make $1,000 per week?

$1000/$154.37 = 6.47

That means you would need 6-7 clients sending you their weekly podcast to make $1,000 per week or $50,000 per year.

If you follow the step-by-step formula inside my program, you should be able to get your first client in as little as 60 days and 1-2 new clients per month going forward as long as you continue the process.

One more thing...

On average, once you're trained and gain some experience (you'll be super slow at first), you'll spend about 4-5 hours per week helping each client. That includes downloading, transcribing, proofreading, and sending the transcripts to the client.

So with 7 clients sending you 43-minute files, you would make $1,000 per week only working about 28 to 35 hours per week.

How would your life change if you could make $1,000 per week working part-time hours in your PJs and fuzzy socks at home?

If you'd like to hire me to train you and help you create your own Custom Transcript Design business, click this link, put in your email address, watch the video, and fill out an application to see if we're a good fit to work together:

https://go.sixfigurescribe.com/work-with-us

I hope this helps you!

Talk to you soon,

Ginger

Three years ago, I went through something traumatic and was considering going to therapy, but the cost held me back. It was going to cost $100 per week. Yikes!

I was talking to my son about it at the time, and he asked me three questions.

Him: How long do most people need to go to therapy?

Me: Experts say at least a year.

Him: How much would it cost to go to therapy for a year?

Me: About $5K.

Him: Is it worth $5K to change your life and never feel the way you feel right now ever again?

This was a no-brainer. I called a trauma therapist the next day and scheduled my first appointment. I've been in therapy since then, and it has radically changed my life.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I know for some of you, the cost of hiring a mentor is holding you back.

So I want to ask you some questions like my son asked me.

➡️ If you've decided you want to be a remote transcriptionist, is it worth $3K for all the equipment, software, tools, knowledge, and support you need to get started working from home and to get the skills you need to make a lot more money than most transcriptionists...or is it better to figure things out on your own?

➡️ Is it worth $5K to learn how to start your own business so you have the freedom to choose when you work, where you work, what kind of work you do, and what you earn...or is it better to keep doing what you're doing now?

➡️ Is it worth $10K if you can hire a coach who will help you get your first client and get on track to building a six-figure business and (when you reach that level) to earn six figures per year for years to come...or is it better to stick with your current income?

I could also flip it around and ask a different way:

➡️ What will it cost you if you don't make a change?

➡️ Will you miss out on time with your kids and/or parents?

➡️ Will you have to keep paying obscene gas prices driving to and from a job that drains you?

I'm not saying cost doesn't matter. It absolutely does.

It's hard for me to pay $100 per week for therapy. Going to therapy costs me a lot. I have to sacrifice in other areas of my life to do this. But had I chosen not to go to therapy, it would have cost me a whole lot more.

So what about you?

Is it worth $3K, $5K, or $10K to change your life by stepping into this new adventure? Only you can decide that.

My programs are not easy. You will have to work hard to succeed.

But if you decide to enroll, I will be there to help you every step of the way.

~ Ginger

Did you ever watch the Karate Kid movies back in the eighties?

There's a scene in the third movie where poor Daniel has gotten pummeled by his opponent, and he's ready to quit. He's lying down on the mat, curled up in a ball of pain and fear. This is what happens next:

Mr. Miyagi:
Daniel-san! Daniel-san!

Daniel:
Mr. Miyagi, it's over! It's over! Forget about it!

Mr. Miyagi:
No!

Daniel:
I'm afraid! Let's get out of here; I wanna go home!

Mr. Miyagi:
Cannot! Must not! It's okay lose to opponent! Must not lose to fear!

Daniel:
Yeah, well I'm afraid! I'm afraid of him, all right? What do you want me to do?

Mr. Miyagi:
Oy! Oy! You stay focused. Daniel-san, your best karate still inside! Now time let out!

And then he gets up, gets focused, puts his training into action, and wins the competition.

Let's think about this.

What would have happened if Mr. Miyagi hadn't been there?

Daniel would've quit, right? Or, even worse, he wouldn't have ever gotten the training he needed to compete (or survive) in the first place. He needed someone to train him, and he needed someone to encourage him when doubt set in.

So what does this have to do with you?

Some of you need a Mr. Miyagi.

Your fear of learning how to work from home as a transcriptionist or creating your own transcription business is legitimate. It's normal to be afraid when trying something new. I was afraid when I first started too.

But you can overcome that fear by mastering the skills you need to succeed, and the best way to do that is by having a teacher who believes in you and will help and encourage you every step of the way.

I'm here to help when you're ready.

~ Ginger

Karate Kid Part III - It's ok to lose to opponent, must not lose to fear "You best karate still inside you. Now time let out!"

I'm often asked how much money remote general transcriptionists can realistically make.

The answer is that it depends on your strategy.

➡️ If you work for a cheap transcription company that is focused on speed over quality, you'll be lucky if you make even 40 cents per audio minute.

➡️ If you work for a good transcription company that is focused on quality over speed, you can make at least $1.00 per audio minute.

➡️ If you get your own clients, you can make anywhere from $2.00 to $5.00 per audio minute. Most of my weekly clients pay me $3.59 per audio minute.

At $3.59 per audio minute, you would only need to transcribe about 12 hours per week to make close to $3K per month.

Awesome, right?

Use the chart below to see what your income could be based on various pay rates.

Feel free to send me a direct message if you have any questions.

~ Ginger